Review Archive

Concrete Revolutio Season 1 Episode Guide

Episode 1: The Witch Girl of Tokyo

Concrete Revolutio Episode 1: Nope, Not Kansas Anymore!

The first episode of Concrete Revolutio, “The Witch Girl of Tokyo,” recently aired — and I think I understood what happened!

The show seems to have two distinct timelines distinguished by Jirou Hitoyoshi’s attitude and attire. The opening seems to be in the present, when the polite and scarfed Jirou first meets Kikko Hoshino. She’s waitressing as a cover for her real identity, which we find out is the Witch Girl of Tokyo. Before we get a chance to get our bearings, the scene shifts a little less than 5 years in the future, where Jirou, now callous with a red kerchief, appears to be Kikko’s enemy. She confronts him and tells him that she’s twenty as he bails out of the train.

This was before the opening credits! This kind of frenetic pace characterizes Concrete Revolutio.

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Episode 2: Black Fog

Concrete Revolutio Episode 2: An Almost Linear Plot! Wow!

Inside the ‘Black Fog,’ the second episode of Concrete Revolutio, featured a plot that almost had a conventional structure!

The story begins by introducing Fuurouta. We saw only briefly in the last episode when he and Kikko Hoshino confronted Jirou Hitoyoshi in the future timeline. In episode 2, he frees a huge and beautiful unicorn beetle just in time for a black fog to obscure the sun. The shapes in the fog terrify him, but the unicorn beetle, now glowing, thanks him for saving her and departs.

Continuing Concrete Revolutio’s penchant for dual timelines, the plot jumps ahead. Jirou and Kikko go on a mission to foil Fuurouta’s escape from jail (not sure why he was in there!). She needs to use her magic on him because as a ghost, he can pass through inanimate objects. After bringing him back to the Superhuman Bureau, Fuurouta makes it clear that he wants to join so they can go fight the Tartaros Bugmen, who Fuurouta says are behind the Black Fog. Shortly thereafter, the Black Fog envelopes the National Diet with the Prime Minister. The Bureau dispatches Jirou and Emi Kino to investigate. The Black Fog begins to retreat, and they find unconscious superhumans who were part of the defense force — thus making the Black Fog their problem now, since the Bureau’s job is to protect superhumans.

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Episode 3: An Iron Couple

Concrete Revolutio Episode 3: Who Has The Right To Claim Or Deny Love?

Episode 3 was called “An Iron Couple.” If semi-sentient androids love each other because of their programming, is that any less “real” than humans loving each other due to instinct and neuro-chemical reactions?

Detective Raito Shiba would love to investigate a string of bombings targeting Yatsuka Heavy Industries. To his great frustration, though, the Superhuman Bureau keeps pulling rank and taking possession of the evidence. Shiba comes out and says that there are no good superhuman; only monsters. Daishi Akita reveals to the Superhuman Bureau team that Shiba had been killed and a scientist, “for fun,” put his memories into a robot body.

As Shiba visits the Yatsuka plant he suspects will be the next target, he meets a young girl. He sees members of the Superhuman Bureau, he grabs her arm, and urges her to run. The shock resulting from his touch surprised both of them. Before he can explore their reaction, she says, “He’s here!” and attacks a truck. In the chaos of the ensuing battle, the young girl robot escapes, and Shiba is injured/damaged.

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Episodes 4, 5, and 6: Missing due to a mysterious calamity

Apologies for any inconvenience!

Episode 7: Go Beyond the Sky and Stars

Concrete Revolutio Episode 7: The Power Of Perception

Go Beyond the Sky and Stars,” the fourth episode of Concrete Revolutio, gives us another hint about why Jirou Hitoyoshi’s split from the Superhuman Bureau — but only a hint. Oh, and we see he has other allies in the future, too.

This post has a higher than usual chance of revealing spoilers. Be warned!

Ullr and Emi Kino are talking in a bar. Ullr has been trying to prepare Kikko Hoshino to rule in another dimension (as in ascend to a throne — being a princess and all), and he’s trying to enlist Kino’s help disengaging Hoshino from the man she has a crush on, Jirou Hitoyoshi. Of course, since Hitoyoshi is Kino’s boyfriend, Ullr’s finds a ready ally. While they’re talking, they see the machine-doll Earth-chan, who protects humans, fly past.

In other part of town (in the same timeline — staying in the same timeline for more than a scene is a welcome change!), Hoshino meets Judas so she can escort him to the Superhuman Bureau. He had helped Hoshino and her friends defeat the Diamond Eaters a year ago, but then he had disappeared until now. Earth-chan arrives and says that since he just got out of prison, she’s going to defeat him before he can do evil again. A very confused Hoshino defends Judas, and they escape.

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Episode 8: Nobody Knows about the Rainbow Knight

Concrete Revolutio Episode 8: Another Brick In The Wall

Nobody Knows about the Rainbow Knight,” the eighth episode of Concrete Revolutio, explores more of what makes Hitoyoshi leave the Superhuman Bureau.

In the future timeline, Jirou Hitoyoshi finds what appears to be a graveyard either or robots or cybernetic beings. Hyouma Yoshimura is waiting for him and expresses regret that Hitoyoshi had to see this. Yoshimura tries to use his stop time attack, but Earth-chan, now on Hitoyoshi’s side, takes the time-piece away. Daitetsu, a character we’ve not met so far, arrives with a huge robot, apparently buried under the carcasses of the fallen robots, and grabs Earth-chan.

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Episode 9: End of the Endless Family

Concrete Revolutio Episode 9: Holy Mackerel! The Show Went There!

Episode 9 of Concrete Revolutio, “End of the Endless Family,” shows the powerful don’t like to be thwarted — sometimes in a big way.

Just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in what our calendar would call December 7, 1941, a Japanese submarine washes up on a Hawaiian beach. An American patrol finds it just in time for a Japanese officer to open the hatch. They immediately fire, but he survives the barrage. So they try again.

The narrative switches to a middle school classroom that is in what I think of as the show’s present. The teacher is talking about the origins of life. Morino, a student, thinks the teacher has it completely wrong. After school, Fuurouta in butterfly form tries to follow Morino as he walks home with his sister Wakaba*. Unfortunately for him, Wakaba captures and tethers him. Kikko Hoshino can’t rescue him because she’s supposed to under cover (like he’s supposed to be).

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Episode 10: Mirage of Destiny

Concrete Revolutio Episode 10: Time And Time And Time Again!

Concrete Revolutio’s 10th episode, Mirage of Destiny, served as the obligatory time-travel episode. Of course, it wasn’t content with a simple time paradox!

Hyouma Yoshimura is preparing to back in the past. The woman helping him prepare explains time period-specific idiosyncrasies like using a pay phone. His mission is to destroy the Advocates of Free History. She tells him that regardless of his success or failure, his body will automatically return after one week in the past — or about 5 minutes her time.

The scene shifts to one of the present times — Jirou Hitoyoshi is still part of the Superhuman Bureau. A human cheated by two superhumans in organized crime has taken them hostage and threatens to kill them and himself. He’s in a standoff with police, and the Superhuman Bureau members Hitoyoshi, Emi KinoKikko HoshinoFuurouta, and Yoshimura are hiding a little ways away. When Hitoyoshi says he’d like to save the human, too, since he was a victim of a scam, Kino reminds him that their mission is to save the two captive superhumans.

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Episode 11: Justice / Freedom / Peace

Concrete Revolutio Episode 11: The Sword And The Sub

The eleventh episode of Concrete Revolutio, “Justice / Freedom / Peace,” features a character cutting the United States submarine Antares in half, lengthwise, with a sword. While he suspended the submarine in midair. By himself.

A brown-haired young man runs past some fishermen discussing the new American submarine Antares. He leaps into the air, dons a white helmet, and jumps into the water. While submerged, he confronts the Antares.

Meanwhile, Kikko Hoshino is embedded in the crowd waiting to see Angel Stars, the first superhuman band, as they perform for the dignitaries waiting to see the Antares. At the same time, Jirou Hitoyoshi and Emi Kino are talking to the representatives of Imperial Ads about their involvement in previous incidents, as well as their opposition to the Superhuman Bureau and superhumans. The representative corrects him, saying that they aren’t opposed to superhumans — only that the Superhuman Bureau applies the superhuman label to non-humans, which they find offensive. As they’re arguing, Hyouma Yoshimura arrives to take Hitoyoshi and Kino to the Antares‘ concert where trouble is brewing.

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Episode 12: Hakko Superhuman Crash Incident

Concrete Revolutio Episode 12: Why Jirou Left

The twelfth episode of Concrete RevolutioHakko Superhuman Crash Incident, shows us the gut-wrenching betrayal that drove Jirou Hitoyoshi out of the Superhuman Bureau.

In the show’s past (December, 42nd of the Shinka era), during a peaceful protest, Hoshino visits a high school to see Jin Nakagawa. He makes the root that we saw her eat at the end of the last episode. She uses those roots as medicine since human medical technology is useless to her. Interestingly, he knows she’s from the demon realm. Ullr confirms she’s on Earth looking for a spouse.

Fast forward to August in the 42rd year of the Shinka era. Hoshino, Hitoyoshi, Emi Kino, and Raito Shiba are investigating Claude’s attack on the medical facility (the attack that happened at the end of the last episode). The police have called in Taki, Takahara, and their children from the Strange Power Risk Management Group to aid in the investigation. Taki handed the children jars of special sand. When the children threw the sand into the air, it solidified into the last moments of the crime. The scene showed that Claude slaughtered had slaughtered the staff. As Takahara wondered what Claude had against the doctors, the children found a hidden door. The revealed basement scene unnerved Hoshino and appalled Kino and Takahara. It also explained why Claude had attacked: the basement was full of dead superhumans in states that indicated experiments had been performed on them while they were alive. The same techniques had been used on the “crew” of the Antares.

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Episode 13: Riots in Shinjuku

Concrete Revolutio Episode 13: The Concrete Hits The Fan

The thirteenth episode of Concrete Revolutio, “Riots in Shinjuku,” cements Jirou Hitoyoshi’s decision to leave the Superhuman Bureau.

Buckle your seat belts. A lot went down in this episode! Be warned: there are spoilers below!

The Strange Power Risk Management Office has finished their police-commissioned investigation. They hold a press conference to announce their findings: the Japanese and United States governments conspired to experiment on mostly Japanese superhumans; _Antares_ and the medical facility’s basement were filled with over a hundred corpses. Some were as young as seven years old when they died. They say the Superhuman Bureau knew. When government agents try to breakup the meeting and demand Raito Shiba stop them, he points out that the police had hired the Strange Power Risk Management Office in the first place to get to find out what had really happened!

The newspaper stories spark protests across the globe. Hyouma Yoshimura, who seems to have taken over the Superhuman Bureau after Claude revealed that Daishi Akita was actually an alien, stresses that the Superhuman Bureau had no idea about the secret labs or superhuman testing. Yoshimura tells Hitoyoshi that he has to apprehend Claude before the new superhuman law is passed in two months.

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